Uhuru, Moi sit in Kanu meeting

December 18, 2011 3:45 pm

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By LORDRICK MAYABI, NAIVASHA, Kenya, Dec 17 – The second day of the meeting of the National Executive Committee {NEC} of KANU in Naivasha ended Saturday evening with resolutions to strengthen the party ahead of 2012 elections.

First the NEC resolved to start the process of complying with provisions of the new Constitution and to start countrywide recruitment of members.

The resolutions which were read by party Secretary General Nick Salat also included the identification of candidates for elective positions.

The NEC also decided after a meeting full of tension to emphasise that it will conduct free and fair nominations for all national and county posts.

The meeting which was the first since 2007 brought together warring factions of party chairman Uhuru Kenyatta on the one hand with Vice Chairman Gideon Moi and Salat on the other.

Although Kenyatta is said to have had overwhelming support from among the 40 NEC members present, he is said to have been put on the spot by Salat to explain his absence from the party and why the NEC had not met in four years.

Sources privy to the closed door discussions told Capital News that Kenyatta told the party to prepare for the general election in August 2012, adding that the journey for revamping KANU had just started.

The differences that were expected to play out between the three however failed to materialize with only Vice Chairman Gideon Moi skipping lunch with other party heads.

Kenyatta however insisted that the party will rejuvenate itself to form a formidable force in 2012.

“I’ am sorry for all those people who thought that we will be on each other’s neck, for all those who thought that KANU is dead you are in a for a rude shock; for those who want to see a vibrant and energetic leadership let’s work together,” he assured.

He also affirmed that the party is not unenthusiastic to the idea of forming alliances with like minded parties.

“We are not closing our minds to anything but we do believe that whoever we agree to work with will be from a point of strength gained from revitalising our party at the grassroots base,” Kenyatta further stated.

The meeting which was the first since 2007 will end on Sunday with the amendments to the party’s constitution set to be discussed.

Capital News learnt that the amendments included reducing the number of party officials from 16 to eight.

The officials will also be restricted from holding public offices if the amendments are adopted by the NEC.

LORDRICK MAYABI Lordrick is a graduate of the University of Nairobi with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism. He is passionate about political and governance issues. He also takes keen interest in human rights matters, justice and is fond of sports.